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Kindergarten numbers rise for fourth year

Lowell schools add classrooms to meet demand

By Sarah Favot, sfavot@lowellsun.com

Updated:
01/20/2013 06:36:14 AM EST

LOWELL -- The city's public schools, which have lost several thousand students in the past decade, are facing a mini-baby boom with the numbers of incoming kindergartners increasing for four straight years.

But that enrollment boom may be blunted by the opening of the Lowell Collegiate Charter School, which aims to enroll 540 students in grades K-5 by September.

Enrollment at the charter school "does play a huge part in what we do here in the Lowell Public Schools," said John Descoteaux, coordinator of the district's Family Resource Center. SABIS Educational Systems, which will operate the charter school, has enrolled 150 students as of Jan. 8, School Committee members have been told.

The charter school's plan to open at the former Bradford Industries warehouse on Middlesex Street is being reviewed by the Planning Board .

Descoteaux said the district expects some bubbles, but it has gotten to the point where kindergarten enrollment is rising consistently with no sign of drop-off. According to numbers provided to the state Department of Education, Lowell's enrollment in grades pre-K to 4 rose by more than 450 in four years from the 2007-08 to 2011-12 school years.

Descoteaux said the Lowell Public Schools have contracted with New England School Development Council, a nonprofit agency that assists districts with planning, professional development and research and development.

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Enrollment projections should be sent to the school district within the next month.

The influx of new students has challenged the district. From 2010-11 to 2011-12, kindergarten enrollment increased by 137 students. Additional kindergarten classes were placed at the Bartlett, McAvinnue and Lincoln schools.

Blindsided by another rise this year, the district set up four classrooms at the Rogers School, where central offices are located.

The district may use the same strategy next year.

"The Rogers School is the diamond in the rough," said Descoteaux. "With the enrollment trends that we are seeing, it seems inevitable that sooner or later, we will need to satisfy the needs of younger grades."

The School Committee voted Wednesday night to send out a request for proposals for leased space for 20 to 25 central office employees, in case more space is needed at the Rogers School for classrooms.

Committee member James Leary said the RFP will be used for information and that no decisions have been made.

The Rogers School closed in 2009 at the recommendation of then-Superintendent of Schools Chris Scott, saving the district $1 million from a $7.8 million budget shortfall that year. The district's central offices and Family Literacy Center moved into the building.

Enrollment trends in the district show that enrollment changes are sometimes unexplainable.

"There's really no rhyme or reason to the peaks and valleys," said Descoteaux. "We've seen consistent peaks and valleys over the past 10 years."

Descoteaux attributes some of the increases to an influx of immigrant students and rising numbers of special-education students.

The Lowell Public Schools have partnered with the International Institute of New England, a nonprofit organization that helps refugees and immigrants become resettled in the U.S. The institute works with urban school districts like Lowell, Springfield and Boston.

Descoteaux said in recent years, the Lowell schools have seen an influx of Burmese, Iranian and Iraqi students through the program, as well as a continuing influx of Puerto Rican and Dominican students.

Because Lowell is a large school district, it is able to offer diverse offerings to students who need special-education programs, Descoteaux said.

In the past three to four years, there has been an increase of students on the autism spectrum.

According to enrollment data from 1993 to 2011, from 60 to 70 percent of the students enrolled in city middle schools attend Lowell High School. Since 2009, that number has increased to 70 to 75 percent.

Enrollment at Lowell High was 3,149 in the 2011-12 school year, comparable to the 1997-98 school year. Enrollment peaked at 3,918 in the 2003-04 year. This year, enrollment is unofficially near 3,000.

However, the seventh- and eighth-grade classes are more than 1,000 students each, so enrollment at Lowell High is expected to increase in the coming years.

Descoteaux said Superintendent Jean Franco is committed to serving more pre-school students.

Last year, about 100 to 150 preschool students who applied were turned away.

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